Bruce: I thought I’d be in Oct. with Mets

CLEVELAND — Jay Br uce wasn’t surprised to see Terry Collins out as Mets manager, but he wasn’t happy about how Collins’ tenure ended, with anonymous accusations that Collins didn’t communicate with hi s players.

“Terry and I had a great relationship,” said Bruce, who is preparing to face the Yankees in the ALDS after his August trade from the Mets to Cleveland. “You would like to see people, if they do have a problem, approach him about it, talk to him about it and not let it out through the media.”

David Wright has already criticized the team for going after Collins anonymously and Bruce said the reason things turned ugly in Queens was fairly simple.

“You know what, man? Losing causes a lot of that stuff,” Bruce said. “[If ] they’re back in the playoffs this year and have a good season, no one’s talking about any of it. It’s an unfortunate situation, but it’s the reality of sports. It’s kind of part of the game.”

And it’s no longer Bruce’s concern, since instead of winding down the season with the Mets, he was paroled by an Aug. 9 trade to the Indians, who finished with an AL-leading 102 wins.

“It’s more than I could ever ask for,” said Bruce, whose production at the plate and play in right field bolstered an already strong Cleveland team. “This is the ideal situation. Obviously, being in this spot, being in the playoffs is something you hope for every year.”

And it’s where he thought the Mets would be when the season began.

“I think everyone expected us to be the World Series favorite because of the pitching, but it didn’t go that way,” Bruce said. “Injuries, a lot of times, dictate your season. We had a really, really bad run there with injuries. We limped through the whole year. ... Losing Noah [Syndergaard to a lat injury], we knew it was gonna be a tough, uphill battle from there.”